Tuesday, April 09, 2013

I am trying to save the life of a pit bull named, Amber. She is being held, at the time of this writing, at the North Jersey Community Animal Shelter (NJCAS) in Bloomingdale, NJ. It serves as an adoption center as well as animal control for several towns in Passaic County. I am presently a volunteer at NJCAS, coming in on Sundays, and whenever I have free time. I love all animals, and I love all the dogs I have met at the shelter. But, Amber's case is outstanding, and I'd like the world to know her story. Amber entered the shelter around June, 2012, ten months ago. And during that time, she has never bitten anyone---shelter staff or a prospective adopter. However, in an adoption event several weeks ago, she was reported to have lunged at a stranger and would have bitten that stranger if not held back. The Animal Control Officers (ACO) at NJCAS do not deny that Amber has no aggression towards the shelter staff at all, even with an ever-changing crew, but is unwelcoming to newcomers, barking at them from the confines of her kennel. Our resident dog trainer spent some time trying to correct this "problem" but has had no success. This is where the Head Animal Control Officer, Lisa Perry, decided that Amber was a risk and must be put down. She's thinking lawsuit at this point and the reputation of NJCAS. She told me this herself. It was announced in an email to the volunteer community. The decision was, as always, expressed in the hackneyed manner so prevalent in shelters that kill-- as sad but inevitable, and a very difficult decision to arrive at. So be it.But, I differed. I do not believe that Amber has reached the end of the line. I do not believe that Amber has earned a trip to the euthanasia room. Amber plays a little rough, muscular, and energetic. You can see that in the video. But, she isn't a rabidly angry dog. She does not have Red-Line anger problems. She barks, perhaps even growls, at strangers. But, that is not aberrant behavior from an animal species known to bark and protect their territory. In my opinion, not enough attention, expertise, and time have been exerted to correct the problem--- if indeed there was a problem. I have videos of Amber lunging at me while at play in our shelter backyard. You can see that tendency in the videos, towards the end( Look at the 2:00 minute mark of the video above taken in the snow). Evidently, I am still here, writing to you-- unscathed.In order to be constructive and solution-oriented, I proposed to the Head ACO that an independent dog trainer be brought in to assess Amber and work with her if a problem does exists. I proposed that I will pay all the expenses involved in this effort so that the municipality wouldn't be burdened. NJCAS is managed by the town. The facility is operated by ACOs who are municipal employees. NJCAS is not under an animal welfare group although it was until about a year ago under a different name, BASS. An animal welfare group, a rescue group, would receive my proposal in a positive vein. I am talking about the management, not the volunteer community. In Amber's case, I make a clear distinction between management and the volunteer force. There are volunteers who have reached out to me. This is not a criticism of the volunteers although I wish they would step up and be counted.So, my central question is, why has NJCAS not responded to my proposal at all? Was it so unreasonable as to not deserve a response? It was not meant to be divisive, but an invitation to work together to save a dog's life. I, as a volunteer, have come in for 6 years on Sundays to serve. And I don't deserve an answer? Are Lisa Perry and the other ACOs so hellbent on killing the dog, to eliminate liability in the future, that they are willing to ignore a perfectly reasonable alternative to death? Yesterday, I wrote to the Mayor of Bloomingdale, NJ for some help. I wrote that letter in the same spirit as this one--- that a friendly dog shouldn't be railroaded to death because it is convenient. No response from the Mayor. If NJCAS is petrified by liability, then all the more we should pursue additional training and seek the opinion of other professional dog trainers. This is where the "sheltering" part comes in. Otherwise, the place functions as a processing plant with a discard bin for those who didn't make Grade A. Kill the problem, not the dog. They're not the same.I ask of you, those who are pit bull lovers, animal lovers, animal welfare people, and anyone who believes in constructive solutions, to send a respectful letter to the Mayor of Bloomingdale, Jonathan Dunleavy ( jdunleavy@bloomingdalenj.net ), and to the Head ACO of NJCAS, Lisa Perry ( lperry@bloomingdalenj.net ). Telephone number 973-850-6767. Express your disapproval, no matter how late you came to this story.

2 comments:

I wish I still lived in Levittown, Pa. However, I live in the Philippines now. I would have loved to have the opportunity to recondition her. She is just an excited dog from what I see. Also, you have a leash hooked up to her in an excited state of mind. That's not a good idea. She associates excited with the leash now. I would be willing to bet that when she sees the leash or it's connected to her collar she starts to get excited and that is a bad thing. Leash should have her in a relaxed state. From what I have seen she just needs to learn how to get to a relaxed state. She is confused because she is being taught no boundaries. This is a problem due to people not the dog. It's like putting a 5 year old kid inside a candy store after she did something wrong and saying go get anything you want. My male pit sometimes plays rough when he gets too excited. But, he knows when I say stop he will take his own if you will, TIME OUT then he will come back a play with the other dogs in a more relaxed state of mind and play less aggressively. Very simple case! Hope the dog doesn't get put down for not having the right structure and guidance. Good luck, change her state of mind during different activities and you could save her life.

I'm sure that this specific case is over at this point, I hope that it did not end in the dogs death. I know nothing about training a dog, but I do have two small children and not to compare them but lets face it, if they have no boundries they can go crazy and be overly rambunctious. I think that asking for a personal trainer for the pooch was a great idea and the fact that you offered to foot the bill was incredibly generous. It is very sad that no one felt the need to so much as respond to you. Everyone is so afraid of the potential for lawsuits, I get trying to protect the public and your reputation but not at the cost of a life. No when the animal has caused no one any harm.